Donald trump china

US President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire, fury and frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before." Why can't those words - like so much of what this president says - simply be ignored as idle talk? As just one more statement from a narcissistic politician that never follows words with action? Because this war of words could easily escalate into a military conflict that could prove fatal for millions of people. Commander-in-chief The American president is the commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful military. That would seem to dictate that he choose his words carefully and issue such threats only if he is truly prepared to back them up with military action. Unfortunately, caution, calculability, rationality and prudence are not among this president's character traits. He is not known for keeping his cool. In contrast, he is a hothead. He counts on gut feelings when it comes to politics, he is impulsive, impatient and emotional - and … [Read more...] about Opinion: Donald Trump’s dangerous threat for North Korea

US President Donald Trump's fiercely-worded threats against North Korea delivered in public remarks and via Twitter have made what is an already difficult standoff between Washington and Pyongyang over the latter's nuclear weapons program even more difficult. "It's almost like the North Koreans wrote his statements because they're well known for their over the top rhetoric," said Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the founder of 38North, a website featuring analysis about North Korea. "I am not saying it is going to cause a Korean war, but it certainly makes the situation more tense." Miles Pomper, a nuclear non-proliferation specialist at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), said with his continued saber rattling Trump was likely trying to generate a crisis that would force China to intervene and solve the issue. "But it risks pushing North Korea to escalate with a real action, most likely conventional." … [Read more...] about Experts urge Donald Trump to dial down North Korea rhetoric

For all that has been written about Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, rarely has he been described as having good sense. But in the current situation, which could very well turn into a major crisis, it can be fairly said: Kim is not irrational in his actions. In fact, he has a clear strategy, one that he's pursuing doggedly, just as his father and his grandfather did. In contrast to his forefathers, however, Kim obviously hears the ticking of the clock. This is clearly connected to the change of administrations in Washington. The Donald Trump administration has declared an end to former President Barack Obama's strategy of using "strategic patience" in dealing with Pyongyang. For Kim, the contradictory signals sent from the White House since January are seen as part of a carefully constructed plan by Trump, one in which every public statement is carefully worded to the very last detail. In actual fact they are really the result of confusion within the … [Read more...] about Opinion: Unlike Donald Trump, North Korea has a plan

US President Donald Trump on Friday brushed aside German Chancellor Angela Merkel's criticism of the increasing tension between the United States and North Korea, saying she did not speak for his country. "Let her speak for Germany," Trump told reporters in New Jersey when asked about her comments. "She's a very good friend of mine," Trump said. "Maybe she's referring to Germany, she's certainly not referring to the United States." He then beefed up a warning he had earlier posted on Twitter, which said "military solutions" were "fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path." Read more: Donald Trump has complete, unchecked authority to use nuclear weapons "I hope that they are fully going to understand the gravity of what I said and what I said is what I mean," Trump reiterated at his New Jersey golf resort, where he was holidaying. If Kim attacked Guam, Trump warned, "he will truly regret it and he will regret … [Read more...] about North Korea: Donald Trump ignores Angela Merkel’s pleas against violence

Trump breezed past his two closest competitors, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, to rack up his second consecutive win following the New Hampshire primary on February 9. Saturday marks a possibly decisive victory for the New York businessman: Every Republican candidate who has won both the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries has gone on to win the presidential nomination. In a victory speech frequently interrupted by applause and cheers - as well as brief asides by Trump's wife and daughters - the billionaire businessman railed against everything from Mexico and China to America's education system and Barack Obama, whom he referred to as a "political hack." Speaking of the arduous challenge of running for president, Trump said: "It's tough, it's nasty, it's mean, it's vicious...it's beautiful." Rubio and Cruz are in a tight battle for second place. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are … [Read more...] about Donald Trump wins South Carolina Republican primary

Can someone please find a distraction for the American president? Dangle a shiny object in front of him? Maybe show him a funny YouTube video, or get him to give a rally speech in some small American town. Do anything to keep him busy in the US because when it comes to foreign policy and dealing with countries like North Korea or Iran, Donald Trump horrifies his partners, especially those in Europe. After years of laying down the groundwork, the negotiating partners struggled for yet another 20 months over the Iran nuclear deal. The European Union had a seat at the negotiation table and ended up scoring a success for the bloc. Ultimately, Europeans were able to use their favorite crisis-resolution skill: classic diplomacy. Ever since the Iran nuclear deal was concluded, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has checked eight times to see whether Iran has met the requirements. Every time, the answer was "Yes!" The results have been so convincing that German Chancellor Angela … [Read more...] about Opinion: The world needs more Europe and less Donald Trump

DW: You argue that US President Donald Trump is less an anomaly than commonly thought. This may sound strange to many people who have observed him and his behavior not just during the campaign but also since becoming president. Why do you think that? Christopher Newfield: A lot of his positions on policy matters are the same as the right-wing of the Republican Party. His gender attitudes, his antagonism towards abortion - he is now trying to defund Planned Parenthood, which not only provides abortions but also provides basic birth control for low-income people. His interest in privatization using public money to give to private contractors to renew our infrastructure, appointing a Wall Street banker, who profited quite a bit from the housing crisis in 2008/2009, as secretary of the treasury for example. He is very Republican mainstream in the content of the views. I think what people are shocked by is the way that he promulgates the views, the publicity style, that is quite … [Read more...] about ‘Treat Donald Trump like a normal politician who is wrong about everything’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had some harsh words for US President Donald Trump at an event organized by the Handelsblatt newspaper on Wednesday. Speaking with reporters, she warned that Germany would not blindly follow the United States into a war with North Korea. She added that Trump's "America First" attitude was putting him at risk of decreasing his country's importance on the world stage. "An America that does not care about the rest of the world and just thinks about itself does not make for a big and great country," said the chancellor, contradicting the US president's insistence that his isolationist policies will make the US "win" against its rivals. Merkel was even clearer on the subject of North Korea: Germany has no intention of being dragged into a war on the other side of the world. 'I do not agree' that diplomacy won't work "I do not agree that all diplomatic means have been exhausted," Merkel said. She pointed out that North Korea's neighbors, such as China, … [Read more...] about Chancellor Angela Merkel: President Donald Trump’s isolationism risks making US irrelevant, not great

US President Donald Trump has decided he will attend a meeting of South East Asian leaders in the Philippines in November after previously hinting that he would skip the summit. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte had invited Trump to the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but Trump told reporters in mid-September he had not decided whether he would attend. "He's invited us so we're going to see," Trump said. Trump's ambivalence came as a surprise considering US Vice President Mike Pence who, in April during a visit to ASEAN's headquarters, had said Trump would attend. Read more: North Korea escalation, South China Sea dominate ASEAN meeting in Manila But the White House confirmed Friday that Trump would visit the Philippine capital during a two-week tour of the region that will include visits to China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. Senior officials are believed to have convinced Trump that attending the ASEAN meeting and the Philippines was … [Read more...] about Donald Trump to attend ASEAN in November

The German government has warned the US against withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. US President Donald Trump is expected to decertify Tehran's compliance with the 2015 deal in a White House speech at 12:45 p.m. (16:45 UTC) on Friday. "We believe this agreement is an important instrument to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday. "If ... an important country like the United States comes to a different conclusion as appears to be the case, we will work even harder with other partners to maintain this cohesion," he said. Transatlantic split at stake German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Thursday said that any move by US President Donald Trump's administration to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal would drive a wedge between Europe and the US. "It's imperative that Europe sticks together on this issue," Gabriel told Germany's RND newspaper group. "We also have to tell the Americans that their behavior on the … [Read more...] about Germany warns Donald Trump against decertifying Iran deal